Jose Aldo vs. Ricardo Lamas Verbally Agreed to Meet in December

It looks like former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is nearing his return to the Octagon.

Aldo is currently targeted to fight in December against top five ranked featherweight Ricardo Lamas in a rematch from their initial bout from 2014.

Sources close to the matchup confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the fighters have verbally agreed to the fight although no contracts have been issued at this time. The fight was first reported by Combate in Brazil.

For Aldo (26-3) it would serve as the first non-title fight he’s competed in since 2009 when he knocked out Cub Swanson to earn a shot at the WEC featherweight championship.

Most recently, Aldo suffered a second knockout in three fights when he fell to current featherweight king Max Holloway at UFC 212 in June.

Meanwhile, Lamas (18-5) is coming off a thrilling victory over highly touted prospect Jason Knight in his last fight, which marked his second win in a row overall.

Lamas fell to Aldo in their championship fight back in 2014 but there’s little doubt the would like to avenge that defeat and it appears the UFC is ready to offer him that opportunity.

As of now there’s no card attached to the proposed matchup between Aldo and Lamas, which could be part of the reason why bout agreements may not have been issued yet. The UFC has several shows planned for the final month of the year with plenty of fights that will need to be booked between now and then.